Ivory Mountain
by Delilah
Summary: TK is kidnapped by a wild Garudamon, and the others meet the 9th digidestined while searching for him. A few also experience love.
1. The Beginning

The Ivory Mountain Chapter 1   
Prologue   
  
The digi-destined were walking along the edge of the ocean near the edge of a wooded area, when suddenly Garudamon flew up behind the group and snatched T.K. Garudamon then flew away to the north and disappeared before anyone could do anything about it. Nobody knew that Sora's Biyomon was asleep in the treetop directly over them, unable to hear what happened down below. Because of this, the group began blaming Sora and yelling at her, especially Matt. Sora decided to leave the group shortly after the incident. Everyone watched as she walked into the woods, heading towards the east. Having woken up, Biyomon saw Sora leave and flew out of the tree and followed her. Only then did the others realize the truth, but it was too late.   
  
***   
  
They had been in the woods for a month now. They had decided to go into the woods to search for Sora, but they hadn't found her. They HAD, however, gotten completely lost.   
  
"Tai?" Matt asked.   
  
"What?" Tai said, distractedly.   
  
"Where in the heck are we going?!"   
  
"Uhhh he heh.. I don't know, for sure, but..."   
  
"WE'RE LOST?!?! HOW COULD YOU GET US LOST! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE LEADER! SORA'S OUT HERE SOMWHERE, AND TK GOT KIDNAPPED BY THAT BIRD THING AND YOU GET US LOST!!!!" Matt started to grab for Tai's throat, but he saw Kari standing a few feet away.   
  
~Oh no! I didn't want Kari to see this!~   
  
"Uh, hello Kari." Matt said nervously.   
  
"Whatcha doing to Tai, Matt?"   
  
"Um, we're playing a game. That's all. Aren't we, Tai?" Matt let go of Tai and stepped backwards.   
  
"Yeah, that's it. We're playin' a game, Kari."   
  
"Are not. Matt's about to strangle you."   
  
"I'm not anymore, Kari. We'll settle this later."   
  
(That night)   
  
Everyone was sleeping around the small fire. Everyone, that is, except Matt.   
  
~Being on guard duty stinks~ Matt thought. ~It's boring, its scary, and there's no one to talk to. As if I cared anyway.~ He pulled out the small, red harmonica from his pocket. He began to play a slow tune. It was so sad and soft that anyone who heard it would think it was only the wind if they didn't know otherwise. ~I guess I'm just mad that we're lost. I guess I do care.~   
  
Without realizing it, he had begun to play a little slower.   
  
~I miss Sora. I feel really bad for yelling at her.~   
  
He stopped playing the harmonica and stared into the woods in front of him. For a moment, he thought he saw a shadow, but decided it was the moonlight playing tricks.   
  
~Wow, there's a lot of clouds in the sky tonight. Maybe the wind blew clouds in front of the moon and made that shadow.~   
  
Suddenly the sky became filled with clouds. Not a single star could be seen.   
  
~I think there's gonna be a storm soon. I really hope Sora's ok. I hope T.K.'s ok too. I'll wake the others. That's funny. That sounds like someone's crying.~   
  
He stood up and walked around the fire, bending over to wake up the others one at a time. Mimi was the last person he got to. She was the hardest to wake up. Everyone else was awake by now.   
  
"Mimi? Wake up now. Tai, she's still sleeping. I can't get her up."   
  
"Hmm, funny. She's usually awake by now, complaining about the noise or her nails or something."   
  
"MIMI!! WE'RE BEING ATTACKED BY DIVERMON!!" Matt shouted.   
  
"AAAAAAGH!!!" Mimi bolted upright and looked around quickly. Realizing there was no real danger, she glared at Matt angrily.   
  
"I'm sorry Mimi, but you wouldn't wake up. There's a storm coming and I want everyone to be safe from it. Even you!" he said playfully. Mimi said nothing. Instead she looked over at Joe. He had his back to her and was brushing himself off. Mimi noticed that he had missed a small brown leaf stuck in his hair.   
  
~My, what a strange dream I had just now. Garudamon was inside this big white mountain and had Sora and T.K. with it. Biyomon was flying around it, but no one inside saw her. T.K. had this staff made of silver that was twice as tall as him, and Sora had one too. They were both wearing funny robes. They were red and silver, with ivory decorations on them. Lightning would come out of the ends of the staffs. Weird.~   
  
"Mimi? Hello? Mimi!! We have to get out of here! The storm's gonna come." Matt had been standing in front of Mimi trying to get her attention. "Come on, quit staring at Joe. Izzy found some hollow trees close to each other. The hollows inside them are big enough for us to sleep in."   
  
"I'll be there in a minute."   
  
"You might want to hurry. It won't be much longer till it starts raining." Matt waited a few seconds untill Mimi stood up, then he turned and walked towards the trees. Mimi looked at Joe again, only he was looking back at her this time. He seemed slightly nervous as he walked over to her.   
  
"We better get over there. Who are you going to share a tree with?" they began walking towards the hollow trees.   
  
"Probably with Kari, because we're the only girls here."   
  
"We're all gonna share a tree, two people and two digimon to a tree. Patamon will come with me." Tai said. "Let's get moving!"   
  
***   
  
After everyone chose a tree, they climbed in the holes in the sides and settled down to sleep. Joe, Tai, Patamon, Gomamon, and Agumon were in one tree. Mimi, Kari, Palmon, and Gatomon were in the one next to it. Matt, Izzy, Gabumon, and Tentomon were in a third. The rain started to pour down hard, and thunder could be heard nearby. Whenever the lightning flashed, it seemed like it was daylight outside. It was Joe's turn to keep watch now, but only Kari and Tai could get any sleep.   
  
~Did I hear someone crying?~ thought Joe.   
  
He listened closer, but the thunder was too loud to really be able to tell.   
  
~I'll go out there and see if there's something wrong with one of the girls. I hope I don't get struck by lightning.~   
  
Being careful not to wake Tai, he crawled out of the hole. "Gomamon, watch over everyone while I go to Mimi's tree. I'm gonna go check and see if evrythings ok." Using a large leaf for an umbrella, he stole across to Mimi's and Kari's tree.   
  
"Is everyone all right in here?   
  
"yeah, Joe. Why do you ask?"   
  
"Well, I thought I heard a girl crying. Since you two are the only girls here...."   
  
"Nope. Wasn't any of us. I thought I heard someone crying too."   
  
"Strange." There was a long pause between the two. Then...   
  
"Joe, come inside. You're going to get all soaked."   
  
"Nah, I have to get back to my tree pretty soon. Tai might wake up and wonder where I am."   
  
"Please? Pretty please? Come in here. There's something I want to tell you before you go."   
  
"Well, all right. Could you help me up though? It's difficult getting into these blasted trees."   
  
"Sure. Give me your hand. I'll pull you up." When she took his hand, they both looked into each others eyes and blushed. Joe dropped his leaf-umbrella. Mimi giggled softly, then pulled Joe up. He crawled on all fours just inside the entrance over to where Mimi sat. He turned so that he was sitting right beside Mimi.   
  
"What did you want to tell me?"   
  
"I wanted to tell you, well, um," Mimi faltered, blushing again. "It would be a lot easier to show you, Joe.   
  
"Ok." At this, she leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Wow. I had no idea, well, I like you too!" he said laughing. He slipped his arm around her waist, and she put her arm around him. "Joe?"   
  
"Yeah, Mimi?"   
  
"I wanted to tell you that I love you."   
  
"Really? I've loved you since we first met. I didn't think you'd like me back, so I never said anything." There was a long silence between them, but it was a comfortable one. They didn't need words. Together, they watched the storm light up the night sky. 


	2. And So We Meet

While Joe and Mimi were sitting in a tree, (k-i-s-s-i-n-g sorry, couldn't help it!) Tai had woken up because he thought he heard a noise.   
  
~That sounded like a gunshot~ Tai thought. ~But who would have guns out here? Are there even guns in the Digiworld? Or was that the thunder?~   
  
Soon, he noticed that Joe was missing. "Hey Gomamon, have you seen Joe?"   
  
"Yeah. Over there in Mimi's tree."   
  
"Oh. Hey, did either of you hear something just a little while ago?"   
  
"Nope, just thunder." (Agumon)   
  
~I'll go tell Izzy it's his turn to keep watch~ thought Tai. He climbed out of the tree as fast as he could and ran over to Matt and Izzy's tree. He jumped into the entrance, making sure not to land on Matt.   
  
"Hey, Tai. What's up?"(Izzy)   
  
"It's your turn to keep watch."   
  
"For what? Nothing has attacked us since a month ago, when we lost T.K. and Sora." Matt said, angrily and coldly.   
  
"Yeah, Matt's right. besides, almost everyone's awake right now, so if anything happens we'll all know it."(Izzy) Just then, an arrow shot through the woods and struck just above the entrance to the tree the girls and Joe were in.   
  
"AAAAAAAII"screamed Mimi, terrified. "Joe, what was that? Who shot that arrow at us? Joe, I'm scared." she clung to Joe and started crying softly.   
  
"I am too, don't worry. Let's move over to the side, away from the entrance. We'll be a little more protected. Get Kari up and over to the side too." Mimi proceeded to awaken her, shaking Kari gently.   
  
"Kari, wake up!"   
  
"What is it, Mimi? What's going on?" Kari looked out the entrance and saw the arrow sticking out. "Why's there an arrow over the door?"   
  
"Someone shot it at us. Come over here to the side with us. It'll be safer that way. you too, Palmon and Gatomon."(Joe)   
  
---in Izzy's tree---   
  
"Hey, did you see that?"(Tentomon)   
  
"Sure did. Hey! there's a piece of paper attached to that arrow!"(Gabumon)   
  
"Do you think someone is trying to send a message to us?" (Tai)   
  
"Most likely. If it is a message, then its sender probably won't shoot any more arrows. Just to be safe, nobody leave this tree untill morning, alright?"(Izzy)   
  
"Got it."(Tai)   
  
"Sure thing"(Gabu- and Tentomon)   
  
"Yeah."(Matt) A short while later, Tai, Matt, and the digimon had fallen asleep side by side. Izzy put his computer away and watched the woods through the entrance.   
  
---back in Joe and Mimi's Tree---   
  
"whats that thing hanging off of the arrow?"(palmon)   
  
"It looks like a piece of paper. Should we touch it?"(Kari)   
  
"Go ahead and bring it inside. Let's see what it is."(Joe) Kari leaned out of the tree and turned around to reach the paper. She pulled the arrow out of the tree, then brought it inside. She carefully slid the paper off of the arrow shaft and read it aloud. It read:   
  
To the Digidestined   
  
I have been following your group from a safe distance since we landed in the digiworld. I saw what happened to T.K and Sora. I followed Garudamon and T.K. for a week through the woods until they came to a mountain made from pure ivory. Garudamon opened a door in the side using a magic spell. I followed them inside, and remained there for another week. While there, I discovered a digivice and crest. Someone called Gennai contacted me and told me that these things were mine. he told me that my crest was the crest of Truth and that I was the 9th digidestined child. I would like to tell you that T.K. is in no present danger. Garudamon takes care of him quite well, as if he was its son. As for Sora, she is safe with me. When I left the mountain I found her unconscious a mile south of it. She regained her senses a day after I found her. She is now perfectly fine. She does not know that I know where you or T.K. are located. We shall meet tomorrow.   
  
Signed, Arrow.   
  
"Arrow? I wonder how they got their name."(Joe)   
  
"I think we'll find out tomorrow. We better get some sleep in the meantime. Look! the rain's letting up!"(Palmon) The rain had in fact been letting up. It was no longer pouring hard. The thunder and lightning had stopped altogether. The clouds slowly started to clear up, making a few stars visible in the black sky.   
  
******   
  
the next morning...   
  
When dawn came that morning only one person was still awake. That was Kari. She watched the sun cast pink and golden rays of light on the few clouds left in the sky as it rose. She was still thinking about the letter.   
  
~We should be going right now but I think I'll let everyone sleep a little while longer. Last night was a long night.~ she thought. She looked over at Mimi and Joe. He was sitting against the "wall" with his head down and his arm around Mimi, and she was leaning against him with her head resting on his shoulder. Her hat was lying on Joe's lap. Kari read over the letter again. ~It sounds like Arrow is going to meet up with us no matter where we are. I hope we'll see Sora too.~   
  
---later---   
  
"Hey, can somebody light the fire so I can cook this fish?"(Tai)   
  
"Pepper breath!" (Agumon) A ball of fire shot from Agumon's mouth and set fire to the kindling the kids had piled up. Everyone gathered around it, speared a fish with a stick, and cooked it in the fire.   
  
"I caught these fish!" beamed Palmon.   
  
"You did a good job! I'm so proud of you! (Mimi)   
  
"Kari, what was that piece of paper you took off of the arrow?"(Izzy)   
  
"it was a note. Someone named Arrow sent it. Here. you can read it if you want." She took it out of her pocket and handed it to Izzy. It was folded up many times and had a brownish tint. Izzy read it to the whole group. When he finished, Matt said with tears in his eyes "I'm so glad they're safe. i was so worried about them-"   
  
"We all were Matt, but they're okay now. We'll find them soon. We may even see Sora today if Arrow brings her."Joe said reassuringly.   
  
"How do we know this Arrow's for real, anyway?(Izzy)   
  
"Because if I wanted to harm you, I would have done it last night!" said the person that suddenly appeared behind Izzy. It was a female, with long reddish-brown hair. She was slender and her face had a few freckles. Her green eyes sparkled and she wore a black cloak that flowed behind her. The legs of her black pants were loose and grazed her ankles. Her silk shirt was a deep green and had various tiny flowers embroidered on her long sleeves. She was wearing black moccasins. She held a bow in her left hand. She carried a tan, leather arrow quiver on her back which was filled with arrows.   
  
"Are you Arrow?" inquired Izzy. ~WOW! She's so pretty!~   
  
"Yes. I'm Arrow. We can't wait much longer to save T.K."   
  
"I thought he wasn't in any danger."(Mimi)   
  
"He isn't. Not that kind of danger-"   
  
"WHAT OTHER KIND OF DANGER IS THERE?!"Matt demanded.   
  
"DON'T interrupt me again. He's in danger of not wanting to ever leave. It's like when Mimi was a princess at the gekomon's palace. He's getting attached to Garudamon. This group needs EVERYONE in order to defeat the Dark Masters. If he stays there too long, he won't want to leave. Ever."   
  
"Oh no..." Tears began forming in Matt's eyes. He turned away from the others. He didn't want them to see him cry.   
  
"How'd you know about the gekomon's palace?" (Mimi)   
  
"I followed you guys ever since we landed here."   
  
"Hey how'd you get the name Arrow?"(Tai)   
  
"Watch." She pulled a small apple out of a pocket in her cloak, threw it high in the air, held up her bow and arrow, and shot the apple in mid-air. The bow made a loud snapping noise when Arrow released the arrow. As it was falling through the air she casually held out her hand and caught it. The arrow had pierced it through the exact middle. "The kids at camp gave me the nickname because I was so good at archery."   
  
"Where's Sora?"(patamon)   
  
"I think everyone misses Sora pretty bad. We haven't seen her in a month."   
  
"I told her to wait for me in a clearing next to this one."(Arrow)   
  
"Well then let's go!"(Mimi)   
  
  
----15 minutes later, at the next clearing----   
  
  
At the clearing everyone, kids and digimon alike, gathered around Sora.   
  
"Sora!! We've missed you so much! Where have you been?"(Mimi)   
  
"I wandered around in the woods a lot, then I saw this white mountain. i started walking towards it when something hit the back of my head. Thats when i passed out. I've been with Arrow ever since."   
  
"Did you see what hit you?"(Joe)   
  
"Not really. I remember seeing something orange and purple fly over my head just before I passed out though."(Sora)   
  
"Where's Biyomon?"(Tai)   
  
"In that tree right there, sleeping." Sora pointed to a tree behind Matt. Everyone could see a pink body among the leaves in the tree. "Did you guys get any sleep last night?"   
  
"We did!"(all the digimon)   
  
"Mimi and I didn't get much sleep."(Joe) Just then a large rock fell from the sky and landed on Matt's foot.   
  
"YOWW! that hurt!" Matt fell to the ground and clutched his foot, groaning. Sora rushed over to Matt's side and told him to remove his shoe. After doing this, he took his sock off and looked at his foot. It had swollen from the rock's impact, but nothing was bleeding. "Tai, can you help me take Matt to the stream? The water's really cold. Maybe if we stick his foot in the water, it'll help the swelling."   
  
"Yeah. Matt, put one arm around me and put the other arm around Sora. We'll help yuu over to the stream that way. Everyone else, stay here. Matt needs his space."(Tai) Tai and Sora got on each side of Matt and bent over so he could reach them. He put his arms around them like Tai told him to, and the two pulled him up and walked over to the stream. Matt and Sora glanced at each other's eyes.   
  
~I'm kinda enjoying this.~ thought Matt.   
  
When they got there, Sora and Tai eased Matt onto the ground. He put his foot in the water and kept it there. Almost immediately he felt relief from the pain. "Thanks, guys. My foot feels better now. I don't think I can fit it back in my shoe though."   
  
"Keep your foot in the water till I get back. I'm gonna go get your shoe." Tai then left Sora and Matt alone by the stream.   
  
"Sora?" She responded by looking him in the eyes. "About that thing a month ago, I'm so sorry I yelled at you so hard. Please forgive me. I didn't know that it wasn't your Garudamon, and I started acting like a jerk. I-I-"   
  
"Don't worry about it. It's ok. Losing T.k. must have been really hard for you. I forgive you." She smiled at him.   
  
"Last night before the storm started I thought I heard someone crying. Was it you?"   
  
"Yeah." Sora stared down at the ground.   
  
"Why?"   
  
"I really missed everyone. I didn't think I was ever going to see you guys again. When the storm came up, I was getting kind of scared too. I never really liked thunderstorms that much." She said the last sentence with a little smile.   
  
"If it makes you feel any better, I am TERRIFIED of heights. Thats why I get so nervous climbing mountains."   
  
Sora looked into Matt's eyes. ~I care about him so much. How am I going to tell him that I have feelilngs for him?~   
  
"Sora, I need to tell you something before anything else happens. This might sound weird, but I love you. I love you a lot."   
  
"I love you too Matt. When you yelled at me like that, I thought you hated me. " She smiled at him again and sat closer to him. She put her arms around his neck and hugged him. He put his arms around her waist and kissed her lips lightly. As they held each other longer, their kiss grew more passionate and intense. They began kissing each other so hard that Matt fell backwards onto the ground. Sora rolled over on top of him sitting with one knee on each side of him, but being careful not to squish him. She leaned over so that her face was next to his, and they began kissing more passionately than before. Matt moved his hands around her back, and she ran her fingers through his hair, feeling how soft it was.   
  
Suddenly the bushes nearby rustled. Tai popped out, waving Matt's shoe cheerfully. 


	3. Plans With Dinner

"Ummm, guys?" Tai asked, confused. Matt and Sora stopped kissing. They started to blush, having realized they had been caught. She stood up and stepped to Matt's side and sat down on the ground beside him. He sat up, then leaned forward to rub his foot. Somehow it had managed to stay in the stream. A mischievous smile spread across Tai's face.   
  
"I can't leave you two alone very long, can I?"  
  
"It's not what it looks like-" (Matt)  
  
Tai burst out laughing. "You can't tell me that pawing each other's bodies and exchanging tongues does not look like making out!"  
  
"Ok, so it is what it looks like. PLEASE don't tell anyone!" (Matt)  
  
"I promise I won't tell anyone. Just find a place a little more private next time, ok?"  
  
"Ok." Matt and Sora said relieved.  
  
"Here's your shoe. If the swelling went down enough maybe you could put it on." Tai handed it to Matt, who was still blushing.  
  
"Thanks, Tai." Matt took his sock from inside the shoe and gingerly pulled it over his foot. Then he loosened the laces (a LOT) and put his foot inside it.   
  
"It fits, but I can't tighten the laces much. My foot's still a bit swollen."  
  
  
------back at the clearing-----  
  
  
  
  
Izzy and Joe found some logs and sat on them on one side of the clearing. The rest of the kids (excluding Matt, Tai, and Sora) were on the other side. Mimi was talking to Arrow about makeup and parties and the like. The digimon were having a tree-climbing contest to see who could climb the fastest. Palmon and Biyomon were cheering them on and doing cartwheels. Kari was lying on the ground staring at the fluffy white clouds in the sky.  
  
  
~That one looks like a mouse.~ (Kari)  
  
Mimi and Arrow stopped talking and looked over at her. "Wouldn't she and T.K. be cute as a couple?" (Mimi)  
  
"Yeah. They would make an adorable couple, wouldn't they?" (Arrow)  
  
"Well, they're a bit too young, but who knows? When they get older, they could fall in love and get married!" (Mimi) Having heard this, Kari immediately replied "MARRIED? EEWWW!"  
  
Some bushes near Joe and Izzy moved. Tai and Sora came through them carrying Matt like they were before. Joe stood up, wlked to some other bushes, pulled out another log, and put it next to Izzy for Matt to sit on. Tai and Sora carried Matt to it and bent over so he could sit on it. Sora left the guys and walked over to the other girls.  
  
"For a skinny guy like you, you sure are heavy!" (Tai)  
  
"I've got a lot of muscle mass!" boasted Matt.  
  
"Yeah, whatever! I'm going back to the stream. Agumon, wanna help me catch some fish for lunch?"   
  
"Sure Tai! Hey Patamon, bet I catch more fish than you!"  
  
**************  
  
T.K. was sitting in a large room. He was seated on a massive silver throne with a red, velvet cushion. He wore long, silky, silver-colored robes that trailed 5 feet behind him whenever he walked. It was trimmed with red velvet, like that of the cushion. Beside him there was a tall, twisting, gnarly staff. It did not touch the ground, but floated just over it in the air. It too was made of silver. Two large mahogany doors across the room opened and Garudamon appeared through them. He approached T.K.  
  
"Garudamon, I'm bored. Can I go outside and play?"  
  
"Yes. Would you like to play frisbee?"  
  
T.K.'s face lit up. "Yeah!!! I haven't played that in a long time!"  
  
Garudamon then smiled. He held up his index finger, pointed in the air, and began to make circling motions in the air. Yellow 'fog' began to appear around his finger and got thicker, but did not grow, the faster he circled it. Soon, a bright yellow frisbee was spinning on it. He tossed it into the air and caught it with his other hand. "Let's go!"  
  
***************  
  
The kids were now sitting in a circle around a fire. [clockwise, starting with Matt: Matt, Sora, Mimi, Joe, Tai, Izzy, Kari, Arrow. Most of the digimon are somewhere near their Digidestined.] Agumon was upset that Patamon caught more fish than he did. When Tai wasn't eating, he was trying to console his reptilian friend.  
  
Tai: "Agumon, I'm sure you'll catch more fish than him next time!"  
  
Arrow: "Hurry up and eat, guys. After lunch, we need to head towards Ivory Mountain. The sooner we get T.K., the better.  
  
Joe: "Ivory Mountain?"  
  
Matt: "You know, the mountain made of ivory...?"  
  
Joe: "Oh yeah...I get it." He blushed a little. To Mimi, he said quietly, "Now I look like a dork."  
  
Mimi: [whispering in Joe's ear] "Don't worry. Everyone has moments like that."  
  
Just then a sudden gust of wind blew Mimi's hat from her head, over the fire, and near Izzy. Tai jumped up to catch it just as he was taking another bite. He tripped over Agumon's tail, caught hold of the hat, lost hold of the fish, and fell on Izzy's lap. [Fortunately, Izzy had decided to leave his laptop in his backpack today! UNfortunately, Tai had smooshed fish on his face and Izzy had it on his shorts.] Izzy jumped up and dumped Tai on the ground.  
  
Izzy: "YECHH!! OH GROSS! JUST BECAUSE I'M EATING FISH DOESN'T MEAN I WANT TO WEAR IT TOO!" He wiped as much off of himself as he could. He went to his stuff and got out a pair of clean shorts. Then he went behind some really thick bushes to change. Tai used his shirt to wipe off his face. Somehow the hat had survived the whole incident without getting burned or fish on it. Tai walked over to Mimi and handed it to her.  
  
Tai: "Here." He turned and walked to the stream to wash himself.   
  
Mimi: "See, Joe? Maybe not moments exactly like that, but you get the idea. Right?"  
  
Joe: "Yeah." He smiled at her and kissed her on the cheek.  
  
Everyone else was still laughing.  
  
Arrow: "I guess everyone's done eating now."  
  
Kari: "Not me. I'm still hungry."  
  
Arrow: "Here's some more." She handed her another fish.  
  
Kari: "Thanks." She began eating it.  
  
********************  
  
After everyone had eaten, cleaned up, and packed up, they began walking towards Ivory Mountain. Arrow led the way, followed by Tai, then Izzy and Kari, Joe and Mimi, and at the end were Matt and Sora. Matt still needed help walking, so he leaned on Sora.  
  
Arrow: "The shortest way from here to the mountain is across a swamp. It's a very large swamp, and going around it would take months. Going through it should only take about six days. If we don't have any problems.  
  
Tai: "What kind of problems?"  
  
Arrow: She stopped walking and turned to face him. "It's called the Swamp of Sadness. The whole thing is practically quicksand, but you don't usually sink in it. You can walk right on it.  
  
Agumon: "Why's it called the Swamp of Sadness?"  
  
Arrow: "You only sink if you let sad thoughts take over. It's like the weight of the sadness makes you sink." She turned around and resumed walking.   
  
No one noticed, but just then a weird digimon flew over them. Its body was purple and pear shaped. its wings were orange and looked too small to fly with. Its head was orange too, and round. Its bright yellow bill was shaped like one of those bike horns [kinda coney and hollow]. Two slits in the top of the bike-horn bill served as nostrils. It circled them in the sky for a minute, then flew to the mountain.  
  
Kari: "How long will it take to get there?"  
  
Arrow: "To the swamp? We should get there late tomorrow."  
  
Kari: "No, where T.K. is."  
  
Arrow: "About ten days from now. If we don't have any problems."  
  
Izzy: "And if we do?"  
  
Arrow: She looked at him. "Let's hope we don't."  
  
******************  
  
The sun was beginning to set when they reached the edge of the swamp. Waist-high grass grew where there was solid land. There were small bare patches here and there, but not a lot. Nothing but trees and vines grew where the swamp was. Tai was carrying kari because she had gotten tired from walking so much.  
  
Arrow: "We'll camp here tonight." She looked at the sky through the treetops. "There's some clouds, but they aren't rain clouds. Nothing to worry about."  
  
Tai: He set Kari down on the ground. She walked towards a nearby tree. "What are we going to do about food? We're all tired of fish."  
  
Arrow: "I saw a lot of berries over there. We'll have those."  
  
Tai: "Ok." By now, everyone else was setting up their stuff for the night. "Hey guys! Do you want fish again?"  
  
Everyone at once: "NO!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
Tai: "Then all the digimon go look over there for berries. Get as many as you can!"  
  
All the digimon split up and began picking berries frantically. It only took a few minutes to gather enough to feed everyone, and ten times over. While the digimon were doing this, the kids finished setting up. They lay soft leaves on the ground for beds and took blankets out of their backpacks. Soon everyone was siting on the ground in a circle, in the same arrangement as before. Gomamon immediately began shoving berries in his mouth. Tentomon and Patamon looked at him disgustedly, then did the same. Everyone else took small, polite bites.   
  
Matt: He glanced at Sora. ~Sora's so pretty.~ He sighed, then he looked at the sky. ~Just like that sunset. I know what I'll do.~ He smiled to himself. He looked at Sora again, who had stopped eating. She was looked at him for a second, as if to ask 'What?'. She continued eating. "Sora," he whispered.  
  
Sora: She looked at him and whispered "what?" back. She watched him motion her closer to him. She scootched closer.  
  
Matt: Smiling, he said "Follow me." He stood up, and offered his hand to her. She took it, and he pulled her up. Still holding hands, they walked to some bushes nearby. "There's a trail through here. It leads to a really pretty meadow. I saw it on the way here, and I want to share it with you."  
  
Sora: "Ok.   
  
Matt: He pulled some branches of a bush back so she could walk through, then walked through himself. He let go of a small branch before he was all the way through, and it popped back and smacked his backside. "Ow!"  
  
Sora: Looked at him concerned-ly. "Are you okay?"  
  
Matt: "Yeah, I'm fine. Stupid branch doesn't like me, I guess. Let's go." They walked on the trail for a minute untill it ended at a patch of tall grass. "We're almost in the meadow now. Close your eyes."  
  
Sora: "Why?"  
  
Matt: "It's a surprise!"  
  
Sora: "Well, alright." She covered her eyes wih her hands. Matt walked behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. They started walking like this through the grass. Sora could feel grass brushing against her jeans. She could smell a spicy, yet sweet kind of smell coming from unseen flowers. It surprised her when Matt stopped suddenly.   
  
Matt: "We're here." He moved his hands from her shoulders, and up to her hands. He pulled her hands from her face down to her sides. "You can look now." 


	4. Love Theme

Sora: looked out at the meadow. It overflowed with daisies, tulips, crysanthemums, irises, marigolds, even a rose here and there. |gasp| "Oh Matt! It's so pretty! all those flowers!" She turned her head back to face him, who was still grasping her hands.  
  
Matt: "I grew them just for you!"  
  
Sora: "Ma-att!"  
  
Matt: "okay, so I didn't. They're still just as pretty!"  
  
Sora: softly,"Yes, they are. They smell nice too."   
  
She let go of his hands, turning around to face him all the way. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he placed his arms around her waist. They were so close, their foreheads touched. They stared into each others eyes, lost in thoughts of love.  
  
Matt: "Like you. You're so beautiful that your beauty surpasses that of all these flowers combined."  
  
Sora: "Aw, how sweet..." then she giggled. "That was the cheesiest pick-up line I ever heard, but it was still sweet."  
  
Matt: pretending to be hurt, "I tried!"  
  
Sora: "I know, I was just messing with you." They both smiled, and all was silent for a moment.  
  
Matt: "Hey, why don't we sit down?"  
  
Sora: "Here?"  
  
Matt: "Yeah." They sat down together, and Matt put his arm around her shoulder. "We'll have a great view of the sunset from here."   
  
It was a grand sight, indeed. The sun was almost just below the horizon, casting the day's last golden rays on the scattered clouds. A breeze high in the sky blew the clouds around gently, making them appear to dance. One cloud blew in the way of the sun's rays, casting them everywhere. Kinda like what happens when you shine a flashlight at your fingers and wave it around.   
  
Sora: "Wow, doesn't that just look so... so heavenly?  
  
Matt: "Yeah, it does." Sora looked at him, then brought her hand up and tickled the back of his neck. "YAHAA! That tickles! Stop, Sora!" he laughed and fell over backwards, squirming. She stopped ticklng his neck, turned to face him in a kneeling position, and tickled his stomach. He laughed even harder until he could barely laugh anymore. 


	5. Shifted Attentions

DISCLAIMER: {again?!) I dont own Digimon. Just my story.  
  
A/N: sorry i cut off the last chapter right in the middle of a   
paragraph. Didnt mean to do that.  
  
********  
The couple continued their tickling game until Sora said, "O my gosh! Look how dark it got, and so fast too!"  
  
The sky itself was pitch black but the clouds had completely gone now, so it seemed that every star in the heavens shone as if they never shone before. The moon was full, casting its light on the faces of the two lovers and the surrounding flowers.  
  
Matt: "You can't really say 'dark', can ya?"  
  
Sora: "You know what I mean!" Matt was lying flat on the ground, with Sora pressed against his stomach. "I'm tired." she said softly. She rolled off of him, and onto her back. Matt put his arm under her neck, and held her close.  
  
Matt: "Why don't we just sleep out here?" Sora turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "No, no, no! I know what you're thinking, and it wasn't what I was thinking! i was thinking we'll stay here for now, because chances are everyone else is asleep back where we left them. I don't want to wake them all up walking through those bushes again."  
  
Sora: "I guess they were pretty noisy. Okay, we'll sleep here." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and curled up against him. Soon, she fell asleep. Matt yawned, then looked upat the night sky.   
  
Matt: ~I've never seen the stars so bright before. Even in the Digiworld. Maybe I just never noticed. They sure are pretty.~ He sighed contentedly, then felt Sora shift in her sleep. He looked at her when she did this and turned onto his side to face her. He brought his free hand up to head and stroked her hair. ~Your hair is so pretty, the way the moon shines in it like that. I'm surprised this blasted grass hasn't blocked out all the light! You're my little piece of heaven, you know that?~ "My little piece of heaven," he whispered, as he kissed her on the cheek.  
  
********  
  
It was Izzy's turn to keep watch now. He almost got up from his spot to search for Matt and Sora, but thought better of it. He was sure they were off somewhere doing things as a couple. At this thought, he sighed. ~I wish I had someone to spend time with like that, but I know that won't ever happen. Look at me. I spend so much time on my computer, nobody knows I even have a life.~ He tensed up, fighting the urge to cry. ~Why? Why can't I just be normal! Why can't i just be like everyone else! I hate my life!~ He could no longer hold it in. Tears began rolling down his flushed cheeks as he sobbed, quietly. He didn't hear Tentomon stir beside him. He was startled when he felt something pointy tap him, but relaxed slightly when he realized it was only his friend.  
  
Tentomon: "What's wrong, Izzy?"  
  
Izzy: "I don't want to talk about it. I don't think you would understand, even if I could tell you."  
  
Tentomon: "Why can't you tell me? Aren't I your friend? I can't help you if i don't know what's wrong." Izzy looked around at the others to make sure that they were still sleeping. First (and nearest to him) he saw Tai, who was using Agumon as a pillow. Next, he saw Joe and Mimi sleeping in each others arms. Her hat lay on the ground inches away from her head. Kari slept on the other side of them. Finally, his gaze rested on Arrow. She was facing away from him, so he couldn't see her face or anything. He looked at her slightly longer than he had the others. Tentomon noticed this as Izzy looked back at him. "Does your problem involve her?"  
  
Izzy: ~Should I tell him the truth?~ He hesitated a moment. "Yes. Yes, it does." ~How am I going to say this?~ "I have a crush on her, but I know she doesn't like me back."  
  
Tentomon: "How do you know?"  
  
Izzy: "I just do. She wouldn't go for somebody like me. I'm too... nerdy."  
  
Tentomon: "You are not, and don't even say that!  
  
Izzy: "Besides, she never talks to me unless I ask her something. She's out of my league."  
  
Tentomon: "Have you tried talking to her? As a friend, instead of a computer genius?" Izzy looked down at the ground and listened to the crickets chirping. He HAD thought of that before, but he was just too shy.  
  
Izzy: "No."  
  
Tentomon: "Try it."  
  
Izzy: "I can't..." he trailed off.  
  
Tentomon: "You're shy, aren't you?" The kid blushed, then looked up at his friend.  
  
Izzy: "Yeah. I wouldn't know what to say. Other than computer stuff, that is."  
  
Tentomon: "Just say 'hi'. After that, you could give her a flower or something."  
  
Izzy: "Thanks, Tentomon. Help me wake up Joe, would ya? It's his turn to keep watch."  
  
********  
  
TK: "Garudamon?"  
  
Garudamon: "Yes?" he replied as he tucked the boy into bed.  
  
TK: "Today was fun! Can we play tomorrow too?"  
  
Garudamon: "Sure, What do you want to do?" He sat down on the bed next to TK. The boy no longer wore the silver robes he had earlier that day, but now wore red flannel pajamas. The sheets were of white linen, and the blankets were red with silver borders.  
  
TK: "Ummm...can we play soccer? Soccer's fun!" he said enthusiastically. "Matt never played soccer with me." His expression changed from excited to sad.  
  
Garudamon: "You bet, kiddo." he got off the bed and walked across the room to the door. He had just turned off the lights and was about to leave when TK stopped him.  
  
TK: "Garudamon, what's this staff for?"  
  
Garudamon turned around and took a few steps towards the bed. "Did your mom ever tell you the story about Cinderella?"  
  
TK: "Yeah, a long time ago."  
  
Garudamon: "Do you remember the part where the evil sorceress said 'mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all' and then she could see a picture of Cinderella?"  
  
TK: "No..."  
  
Garudamon: "You don't?"  
  
TK: "It wasn't Cinderella. It was Snow White, silly!"  
  
Garudamon: "You're right. You'll have to forgive me, I'm a little rusty on fairy tales. It's been so long since I told one--"  
  
TK: "I could help you remember! I can tell you all the ones my mom told me!"  
  
Garudamon: "You're such a good little boy. Anyways, the staff can let you see what's going on in any place you want to know about. You can also watch other people too."  
  
TK: "Really?"  
  
Garudamon: "Yep. That's not all it can do. It can also show you what will happen in the future. Only a few days into the future, though."  
  
TK: "Why can't you see later than that?"  
  
Garudamon: "You can't see that far into the future because that part of it isn't definite. It hasn't been written yet. What we do today affects all kinds of stuff in the future. Even what we eat for breakfast."  
  
TK: "Oh." There was a long pause, as the two thought in the dark.  
  
Garudamon: "Is that all?"  
  
TK: "Can I see Matt and Kari and all my friends with it?"  
  
Garudamon hesitated, and shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably. "I guess...alright." TK jumped out of bed, ran to Garudamon, and hugged him. "Grab the staff and follow me." He led TK to a small room down the hall from the boy's bedroom. It had a large pool of still, grey-blue water. "Let me see the staff, okay? Thanks." He took it and turned it upside down so that the top of it was in the water. "Let us see the friends of TK," he told the water. The pool began swirling, and turned a muddy brown color. The swirling slowed until it was still again, then Joe, Izzy, Arrow, Mimi, Kari, Tai, and all the digimon could be seen in it. Joe was sitting next to Mimi keeping watch, Izzy was settling back to sleep, and everyone else was sleeping.  
  
TK: "Where's Sora and my brother?"  
  
Garudamon: ~This is odd. Where are the other two?~ "I don't know."  
  
TK: "You don't think something happened to them, do you? Something bad? I hope they're okay!"   
  
Garudamon: (to TK) "It's ok. Don't cry, I'll try to find them. (to the water) Show me Sora and Matt." The water swirled again, and this time showed Matt and Sora sleeping in the meadow.  
  
TK: "Are Matt and Sora in love?"  
  
Garudamon: "I think so...hmmm.... You need to go to bed, Kiddo. It's pretty late."  
  
TK: "Okay."  
  
**********  
  
Joe looked out at his surroundings. There wasn't much to look at, but it was all he could entertain himself with at the moment. ~I can't believe I get to do this for two more hours.~ He heard a rustling noise he hadn't heard earlier, and looked around to see where it was coming from. ~Oh, it's just Tai. He sure is rolling around a lot. He must be having a bad dream.~  
  
  
  
  
::cue dramatic music:: Stay tuned to find out what Tai was dreaming! 


	6. Blurry Illusions

My brain has been on the fritz, so thats why its been so long in between chapters. Thats also why I may not have done very well. @_@   
  
d/c: nope. don't own digimon. Just the plot...and Arrow. If, for some reason, you want to use Arrow in your story, you can. You have my permission.  
  
  
Ivory Mountain, chapter 6  
-------------------------  
  
Joe's p.o.v.  
  
It was still my turn. Tai was still dreaming. He was rolling around so much, you'd think he was wide awake and having a tantrum! When he started getting close to hitting Mimi (while sleeping, of course), I decided to wake him up. I leaned over as far as I could (without disturbing Mimi) and shook him with one hand, attempting to awaken him.  
  
  
Tai's p.o.v.  
  
I was walking through a thick forest. I was alone too. Without realizing it, I walked right into a swamp. I started sinking in the quicksand, faster and faster. I panicked and started to flail my arms. This only made me sink faster. In a matter of seconds, I was up to my elbows in swamp. Suddenly this weird digimon flew out of the sky and picked me up. It carried me to a really tall, beige mountain. I'm not sure, but I think it was shiny too. A hole opened up--no, a DOOR--and it carried me inside. I was taken to a really huge room, and I saw TK sitting in a throne. He was dressed weird, and a staff was floating by him. The digimon set me down in the middle of the room. I tried to get TK and run out the way I came in, but he held up the staff and said 'no'. Suddenly, lightning shot out of the staff. It was about to hit me when Sora jumped in front of me. She took it in the chest and fell to the other side. I asked how she got there so fast, but she just smiled at me. She said, "It doesn't matter Tai. I love you and thats all that matters. Live a good life for me, Taichi. For me." I knelt down and held her in my arms. She looked at me with those eyes. It was the last time she ever did. She died, in my arms! I kissed her on the cheek, hoping...hoping she'd magically come back to life, but no. Instead, TK pointed the staff at her. A stream of red light came from it and hit her. She transformed into Devimon, then Myotismon, then MetalSeadramon. MetalSeadramon coiled his tail around my waist and lifted me into the air. I tried hitting him, trying to make him release me. He squeezed as tight as he could, crushing every bone in me. I kept hitting him, but not very hard because I was so weak. He started shaking me violently in midair. I was losing consciousness, my body flailed back and forth, and the last thing I felt was being shaken to death...  
  
"TAI!!! TAI!! WAKE UP!!" I opened my eyes. Gradually at first, then all at once. The world no longer felt like it shaking. Joe had been trying to wake me up. Realizing that the whole thing was just a dream, I sat up quickly. I threw my arms around Joe. I cried. I cried for the first time in a long time. These were tears of joy, however. I was happy that nothing had happened to anyone.  
  
Joe's p.o.v.  
  
Okay. Tai was hugging me and crying. That dream he had must have really bothered him. I wasn't exactly sure what to do, so I hugged him back and tried to be as reassuring as possible. It seemed to be working, because soon he stopped crying. He let go of me and sat back back on his heels.  
  
"Joe, I had a really bad dream. I guess you could tell, huh?"  
  
"It was pretty hard not to notice. I'm surprised no one else woke up. Do you want to talk about your dream?"  
  
Tai thought for a moment, then said "Yeah." He told me about being carried off, about Sora, about MetalSeadramon. What caught me off-guard was what he said next.  
  
"I think I love her. More than just as a friend."  
  
"Are you sure? Don't take your dream too seriously. Besides, she's already got someone."  
  
"I know. Matt." He looked down at the ground. He looked so sad, it was breakin' my heart just watching him.  
  
Tai's p.o.v.  
  
I KNOW I love Sora, and I'm sure it's not the dream talking. How CAN I be sure? This HAS to be the dream! I feel all messed up! This is happening way too fast. This shouldn't be happening. This is ridiculous. I fall in love with one of my best friends just because I had a dream. Or maybe this dream is trying to tell me something. Well... I guess I always did like her, but I just never realized it. Now it's too late. Matt and Sora are together. I'm not going to try to break them up. They obviously belong together. He's got so much to offer her, but I'd just get her killed. Just like in my dream. Maybe I am taking it too seriously. After all, it was just a dream. Wasn't it?  
  
Joe's p.o.v.  
  
"Tai, go to sleep. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow. You need to get rested up." I said. He didn't look up. "Hey, Tai." I reached over and touched his arm. It startled him, and he jumped. Then he looked at me.   
  
"Huh, what? Oh. Yeah. Sleep. Okay, I'll try." He turned away from me and lay down. A while later I could hear a soft snoring, which meant he was asleep. I glanced around the campsite at the rest of the kids. They were still sleeping. I looked down at Mimi. She looked so innocent with her hair falling around her face. I love her. She's so pretty and sweet, and she loves me too. I smiled when I thought this. I touched her cheek, then I stroked her hair. It's so soft. I looked at her face, and I saw her smiling. She has such a pretty smile.  
  
Arrow's p.o.v.  
  
I woke up suddenly. I don't know why. I hadn't heard anything that would wake me up, and there weren't any monsters around. For some reason though, I had a weird feeling. Without sitting up, I looked around at the others. I thought Joe was the only one awake until I saw Izzy move. He propped himself up a little, just enough to see over everyone else, and faced me. I closed my eyes most of the way so I could watch him without him knowing I was awake. He just kept looking at me. This continued for a while. I was surprised Joe hadn't noticed that he was awake. He was too busy staring at Mimi to notice, I suppose. I was too wide awake now to go back to sleep anytime soon, so I decided to take over for him. I sat up. Izzy quickly lay down. I've got a feeling he didn't want me knowing he was watching me. I stood up and walked around the others to get to Joe. When I stood next to Mimi's head, he looked up at me.   
  
"What?"  
  
"I believe your turn is over. I'll stand watch now, if you'd like."  
  
"Thanks, Arrow."   
  
He gave me a grateful look, then turned towards Mimi again. The same feeling that had awakened me was back. Quickly, I looked at Izzy. He was looking at me again. He had tilted his head back so he could see me. He looked kinda cute like that. Immediately he blushed and turned his head so I couldn't see his face. I looked back at Joe, who was now lying on the ground. He had his arm around his girlfriend. I walked around gathering sticks to make more arrows from. When I had a satisfactory amount, I sat down on the other side of Izzy. He didn't notice. I was hoping to start a conversation with him while I worked, but he must have fallen asleep.   
  
Izzy's p.o.v.  
  
I'm so embarassed. She caught me staring at her! She looks familiar though. I didn't notice that earlier. I feel like I knew her from somewhere. Oh well. She's sitting behind me now, so she's not upset about me watching her.. I could hear her scraping the bark off of the sticks she picked up. A breeze blew, and I shivered. The weather had gotten cold recently. I guess the Digiworld has seasons like Earth. The wind stopped, but I was still cold. Suddenly, something black was draped over me. I realized that it was Arrow's cloak. I gathered my courage, sat up, and faced her. I clutched the cloak closer to me to keep warm. "Hi," I croaked.  
  
"Hello." Her voice was so smooth, and so strong. She looked up from her stick. "You looked cold, so I gave you my cloak."  
  
"Thank you. What about you? Don't you need it?"  
  
"No." There was a pause. I shifted uncomfortably. She looked down at her project and began working on it again. "I sat over here so I could talk to you, but I thought you were asleep. Now I can't think of anything to say!"  
  
"Well, I guess we could talk about each other." Another pause. "Do you make all of your arrows?"  
  
"Yep. I learned at archery camp when I was eight."  
  
"I didn't know they had archery camp."  
  
She smiled, not looking up. "It was when I lived in America."  
  
Why is she being so friendly to me now? When we first met, she hardly ever talked to me!  
  
"You look nervous."  
  
"I am."  
  
"Why? We aren't in danger. You aren't on stage in front of millions of people."  
  
There was NO way I was going to tell her about...my feelings...for her. "I-- I don't want to talk about it." I played with a leaf on the ground. I must have been blushing, because my face felt really hot. Funny, the rest of me felt cold.  
  
"You don't have to." She set her stick down and looked me in the eye. "I already know. You have a crush on me, don't you?"  
  
Oh no... she knows. "Y-yeah."  
  
"There's no reason for you to be nervous then."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I'll put it to you this way, Izzy." She gave me a sly grin. "I've got a thing for redheads. Ones like you."  
  
I dropped the leaf and looked at her in total shock. "Are you saying...you like me?"  
  
"Yes...why wouldn't I like you?"  
  
"You've only known me a few days, and we never really... talked to each other until now... I didn't think you'd go for someone like me."  
  
"You've only known me a few days as well, but you seem to have gotten a crush on me anyway."   
  
  
Arrow's p.o.v.  
  
I watched him blush again when I said this. I decided that I was finished with my arrows for tonight, so I carefully picked up all of my stuff and put it in a pile behind me.  
  
"Can I ask you a question?"  
  
"Yeah. Go ahead."  
  
"When you first got here, you didn't talk much. You were so calm and strong, you know? Like an Indian chief or something. Why are you so... outgoing... now?"  
  
"An Indian chief, huh? That's cute. I was that way because I was kinda scared."  
  
Softly, he said "Of what?"  
  
"That you guys wouldn't accept me. In the "short" time we were in the Digiworld, the eight of you got to be close friends. I was afraid I would step right in the middle of it and, well, upset someone. I was self-conscious too. I didn't want to start acting ditzy or anything. See Mimi over there?" I pointed at her. "We have some things in common. We can be really ditzy, but we don't mean to. We're flirty. We like people. We're outgoing. We're friendly. Usually. We have our differences too, but I'm not gonna go into that." I stopped. That feelilng I had before, the one that told me there was something familiar about Izzy, returned. "You know, you remind me of someone."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Back when I was in first grade, my dad had to move to Japan for a year. Something for business. He took the whole family with him so we wouldn't be separated. We got there about one month into the school year. On my first day of school there, the teacher introduced me to the class. None of the students looked like they cared if I was there or not. She told me to sit next to a boy in the back row. I took my seat, and the teacher went on to what she was doing up front. The boy introduced himself to me, and asked if I would meet him by the door at lunch."  
  
"What was his name?"  
  
"I can't remember. I DO remember that he had red hair."  
  
"Do you remember the name of the school?"  
  
"Yeah. It was Odaiba Elementary."  
  
"I went there in first grade too!"  
  
"Anyways, the lunch bell rang and I waited for him by the door. We walked together to lunch, we sat by each other, and we played at recess together. We became best friends that day. After that, we were inseparable. Until I moved back to America, of course."  
  
"I remember my best friend in first grade. She was a new student. Before her, I didn't have any friends."  
  
"How sad... tell me more."  
  
Well, on the first day we met, I told her to meet me before lunch so I could ask her something. I forgot what, so we just talked. I still don't remember what I was going to ask."  
  
We looked at the ground in silence. I guess we ran out of things to say.  
  
"Do you remember the tacher's name?"  
  
"Miss Dorama."  
  
Izzy looked up. "That was my teacher too."  
  
This was getting weird. All these coincidences...maybe...just maybe... "I remember his name now. It was Ryan. That's what everyone called him."  
  
"That was MY nickname! I got that nickname back in Kindergarten, and everyone called me that until 3rd grade!" His face lit up with that look that means you've just realized something. It faded as he started to say something, but hesitated. "Michelle?"  
  
************ 


	7. Reconciliation and Decisions

d/c I don't own digimon. (Not yet...MWAHAHAHAHA! okay...)  
  
  
Izzy's p.o.v  
  
"That's me." She leaned over and hugged me. "It's been so long! I missed ya, buddy."  
  
"I missed you too." I couldn't believe it. Here I was with my best friend, one I hadn't seen in a long time, and we liked each other!  
  
"We don't have a whole lot of time left before we get up and go through the swamp. Both of us need to get to sleep now. Whose turn is it to keep watch?"  
  
"Mimi's, I believe."  
  
"Let's wake her up..." she said with a mischievous grin. "...Ryan!" She reached over and ruffled my hair.  
  
"Hey! I'm going to get you for that!" Izzy dropped Arrow's cloak on the ground and chased after her.  
  
*************  
  
Garudamon now stood in a dark room. The walls were made of gray stone, with a cement floor. On the opposite side of the room, the purple and orange digimon stood.  
  
"You're back, KaneNashimon."  
  
"Yes, I am. I tried to keep them from coming here, but they still persist. A few days ago I dropped a rock on the blond boy's foot to slow them down."  
  
"I believe it didn't work."  
  
"No, sir."  
  
"Here. Take this bag of sand." Garudamon pulled a small leathery pouch from the thick black belt around his waist. "Wait in the swamp for them. When you see them, throw the sand onto all of the flying digimon. This will prevent them from being able to fly. Be sure not to get too much on them. If that happens..." He stopped to think a moment. "If that happens, use this to put all of them to sleep." He took what appeared to be a green Windex bottle from his belt. "While they sleep, bring them here."  
  
"How will I get ALL of them here? I'm too small!"  
  
"Ah, you forgot. I have a digivice. Here. Just use it to digivolve. Then you'll be large enough to carry all of them. Remember, don't hurt them."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
**************  
  
  
Mimi's p.o.v.  
  
I'm still mad at Arrow and Izzy. I was having this really great dream about me and Joe in Hawaii, then they picked me up and dropped me in the berry bushes! How rude! Half an hour later, I'm still picking the leaves off of my dress! It's my turn to keep watch now, and I can't even find the path back to camp. Oh, here it is! It's gotten lighter outside since I first woke up. Oh my, look at that sunrise! That has got to be the most beautiful one I ever saw! "HEY GUYS, WAKE UP! YOU'VE GOT TO SEE THIS SUNRISE!"  
  
"Mimi, do you think you could be a little quieter? I'm TRYING to sleep here!"   
  
"Sorry, Tai. You've GOT to see this sunrise! Look at all the pretty colors!  
  
Tai's p.o.v.  
  
I sat up. I noticed everyone else waking up too. It wasn't very long before everyone was standing. WOW, that IS a pretty sunrise! Clouds were scattered in front of the sun, reflecting golden rays from them. The whole sky was pink and purple and red. Whoa, what was that? I think I saw a green cloud. "Did anyone see that green cloud? It was right over my head up in the sky but it flew too quick!"  
  
"A green cloud?" Izzy gave me a skeptical look before looking back at the sky. "Hey, there IS a green cloud!"  
  
"Told you!"  
  
  
Matt's p.o.v.  
  
I woke up to a bunch of yelling. I opened my eyes and saw the most colorful sky I had ever seen. "Hey Sora! Check this out!" I gently shook her awake with my free arm. She opened her eyes suddenly.  
  
"Matt, look at the sky!"  
  
"I know. Beautiful, isn't it?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Sora?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Could you sit up for a minute? My arm's asleep."  
  
She giggled. "Okay." She sat up and hugged her knees to keep from falling backwards.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
  
Joe's p.o.v.  
  
Everyone was standing, staring at the sky. Almost everyone. Arrow and Izzy were playing Tag with all the digimon. "OW! Tentomon! Don't fly so close to my head anymore, okay?"  
  
"Sorry Joe!"  
  
"Are you all right Joe?" Mimi looked at me with concern. She touched the back of my head where Tentomon whacked me. It was still a little tender.  
  
"I'm OK." I took her hand and pulled her in front of me so that we faced each other. I smiled down at her, and she smiled at me.  
  
"That's good."   
  
I cupped her face in my hands, stroking her cheek with my thumb. I leaned over and kissed her. Suddenly I got a weird feeling. I looked around at the others. They weren't watching the sunrise anymore. "Uhh...heh heh heh..."  
  
"Go Joe! Go Joe! You're groovin'! Go Joe!" Tai started dancing around. Oh boy.  
  
"Tai, stop it right now! I can't believe you're being so immature!" Mimi was screaming at the top of her lungs. It stunned everyone. She looked ready to kill Tai. He noticed that.  
  
"Okay, Mimi. Sorry." He looked dazed and confused.  
  
  
Arrow's p.o.v.  
  
Wow, I didn't know she had it in her. In the short time I've been with everyone, I have NEVER seen anyone shut Tai up that fast. I'll probably be seeing more of it. Oh no! We should be packing! We've got to find Matt and Sora! "Where's Matt and Sora?"  
  
What's that? Sounded like it's in the bushes. I looked in the direction of the noise, and saw Matt holding back a branch so Sora could walk through.  
  
"Nevermind."  
  
Izzy walked up to me. "Should we get ready to cross the swamp?"  
  
"Yes. After that, let's get breakfast. Why don't you be in charge of packing?"  
  
"Okay." As he left, I reached out and smacked his butt. He stopped suddenly, and turned around looking really surprised. "ARROW!" he whispered, wide-eyed and blushing. I winked at him. A really goofy grin spread across his face, and he laughed a little.  
  
"Go do what you were gonna do, Izzy. We've gotta cross that swamp soon as possible." He nodded, then headed over towards the others.  
***********  
  
Normal  
  
Half an hour later, everyone had packed up and was ready to go. The kids and digimon stood in a circle around Arrow, listening to her plans for crossing the swamp.  
  
"We'll build a small raft so we have something to sleep on out there. When we're walking, we'll carry it over us like you would a canoe. Like this." The auburn-haired girl then demonstrated, using an imaginary canoe.   
  
"Won't that get tiring after a while?" asked Mimi.  
  
"We can always take a break. We need to avoid taking too many, though. We have to cross the swamp as fast as we can, because it's a really bad place to get caught if bad digimon are after us. Matt, how's your foot doing?"  
  
"Still a little sore, but the swelling's completely gone."  
  
"Your feet heal fast, don't they?"  
  
"I guess they do this time!"  
  
"Okay, let's get started on that raft."  
  
***********  
  
Kari's p.o.v.  
  
Wow, time sure flies when your'e working. It's almost noon! Well, the raft's done. Joe, Sora, Mimi, Matt, and Tai are carrying it into the swamp, testing it to see if it's ready. Izzy's out there too, making calculations in his head. I have no idea why. Arrow is out in the woods looking for food to take with us. She said that there won't be much in the swamp. Izzy let me play with his laptop so I won't be bored. ::Yaaawwn:: I'm tired. I think I'll take a nap....  
  
"Kari! Wake up, Kari!" (Tai)  
  
"Whaaa..." How long was I asleep? Why's everyone standing in the middle of the swamp?  
  
"Get up!" He walked over and helped me up. "It's time to cross the swamp."  
  
Sora's p.o.v.  
  
We really better not put off leaving any longer. We've already been delayed long enough, Ahhhh... that's better. Kari's with us now, so we can all get going.   
  
"Follow the white mountain the way you would the North Star, okay guys?" Nobody said anything. We just nodded to show we heard her. "Come on, we've got a long journey ahead of us. Cheer up. We don't have a choice." I guess she's right. If we don't have a positive attitude towards this, we'll do a lot better. I hope.  
  
I looked at Matt, who stood by my side holding my hand. He looked into my eyes and smiled so warmly, so reassuringly... so trusting. I couldn't help but smile back. I took my hand from his and wrapped my arms around him, embracing him. We stood a moment, just hugging, just listening to each other's heartbeats. When we pulled apart I glanced out the corner of my eye. I saw the rest of the group watching us, waiting patiently for us to finish. What cauht my attention most was the look on Tai's face -- the unreadable one. His eyes were filled with all kinds of emotions. Happiness, love, hope, and...sadness? Confusion? Despair? I can't tell. I looked away as quickly as I could. Trying to brighten things a little, I said "Well, quit watching us! Let's go!"  
  
"We've BEEN trying, but stuff keeps coming up!" Tai shouted hotly. He turned and stomped into the swamp. The rest of us followed, with our packs on our backs (for those of us who had them) and a raft over our heads.   
  
Pretty soon, we were deep into it. We couldn't see the woods anymore. Arrow and Izzy were at the 'front' of the raft sharing some unknown private joke, Matt and I marched directly behind them, and Joe and Mimi behind us. Kari was with her brother at the head of the group, walking ankle-deep in quicksand-like stuff. She chatted with him most of the time, but the most he ever said at one time was 'Yeah' or 'okay'. He seemed really distracted. Everyone's noticed it.  
  
*************  
  
Tai's p.o.v.  
  
Wow, dark already? It seemed like only minutes ago we left the woods. "Hey Arrow, how far did we walk today?"  
  
"FAR ENOUGH!!" Mimi shouted. "This place is icky, and I'm tired of walking in all this mud!"  
  
"Me too." You could barely hear Izzy, he was so worn out. He gave Arrow a funny look, and she looked back at him. Wonder what that was all about.  
  
After a little bit of thought Arrow said, "Set down the raft, let's call it a night."   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I realize i haven't been writing fast enough, but i have a lot of stuff going on right now. That'll be fixed. When I finish this series, I'll try to do stories a lot faster than i have been, work on making them better, etc. And for those of you who keep asking...No, I will NOT turn THIS fic into a TAIORA. (not a full-blast one, where they both love each other anyway. There will be some moments where Tai... nevermind. don't wanna spoil the story) However, that'll be one of the next ones i write, okay? Something for everyone. Just can't do it now.   
  
please review! Tell me what i can do to make my future stories better, what you liked about what i did, and stuff like that. I NEED YOUR FEEDBACK!! 


	8. Transferred

-------------------------  
Ivory Mountain, chapter 8  
-------------------------  
  
Matt's pov  
  
Ahhhhhhhh.... rest. Feels sooo good. We're all lying down on our raft, gazin' at the stars. I was, anyway. Izzy's on my far right, snoring his head off. Next to Izzy is Arrow, then Tai (also asleep), then Sora, then me (heeheehee). To my right: Joe, then Mimi, then Kari on the far right. All of our digimon are asleep by our feet. Thankfully, they don't snore.   
Sora: "Matt?"  
  
Me: "Huh? wha- What?" Her voice startled me. I rolled onto my side to see her better, then gazed into those beautiful brown eyes of hers as she continued speaking.  
  
Sora: "Do you ever wonder... if we'll ever make it home?" She looked at the stars. I could tell by the look on her face she missed being home.  
  
Me: "Sometimes. I try not to think about it though. It only makes the hurt worse. It wouldn't be so bad if TK was still here." I started thinking about him. I really do hope he's okay. He's my little brother. He HAS to be okay or...  
  
Sora: "Matt?"  
  
Me: "What?"  
  
Sora: "You went off in your own little world again. Somethin' wrong?" She had a concerned look on her face. She propped herself up so that her head was upright. Her free hand was caressing my hair.  
  
Me: "Nah." A light breeze blew, and the raft began swaying. Not much, but just enough so you could sense it. I moved a little closer to her and kissed her lightly on the cheek. The breeze was growing a little chilly, so I pulled Sora as close to me as I could and wrapped my arms around her. She closed her eyes for a moment, then looked into mine.  
  
Sora: "I love you, Matt."  
  
Me: "I love you too." I kissed her again, ony this time on the lips. "Good night."  
  
Sora: "Good night, Matt."  
  
*********  
  
Joe's pov  
  
What was that? Is it raining? Why'd this have to wake me up now?! I was in the middle of a really good dream! I looked around at the others. I was the only one awake now. Okay, so it wasn't rain. Is it dust? I looked up towards the sky. I saw what appeared to be a shadow circling over us. Occasional torrents of white dust fell down as if the shadow were throwing it on us. Why would someone do that? Suddenly, all my muscles contracted. I tried to lie down again, but I was paralyzed. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. I clenched my teeth to try to stifle my cry of pain, which came out as a groan. My muscles kept contracting until i finally screamed at the lop of my lungs. I was now shaking all over, my body was so tense. The pain had become very excruciating, and I could take it no longer. Just when I gave up all hope, a mist came upon us. As it touched my skin, it seemed to remove the dust. The pain lessened and I soon fell unconscious.  
  
*********  
  
Tai's pov  
  
When I woke up I expected to be sitting on a log raft in the middle of a swamp, NOT lying on a rug in front of a fireplace (with a fire in it) like my pet cat. I was alone except for an orange snakelike digimon with green eyes lying along the length of the wall. It was about 20 feet long, 5 feet thick, and its huge blue wings were folded back. It had two small arms, no legs, and two blue stripes under its eyes. I tried to keep the panic out of my voice as I asked, "Who are you? Where are my friends?"  
  
"My name is Bailemon. Your friends are in their own rooms, and all of your digimon are in the kitchen at the end of the hall." Bailemon talked with a slight English accent. I didn't know digimon could have accents!  
  
A thought flashed through my mind, and it wasn't a good one. "Why are--"  
  
"They're getting a snack. They're not being eaten."  
  
Awestruck, I asked "How'd you know I was going to ask that?"  
  
"Your eyes told me. You can learn anything about anyone if you look at their eyes."  
  
"Oh." I sat down on the rug since there wasn't much else to do. I looked at the fireplace, which was made of red brick. The fire was winding down, but still going strong. Then I looked to my left. A small oak table was pushed up against the wall, with a little wooden stool to go with it. There was a red cushion on the stool made of velvet. Next to the table was a sofa. That too was made of red velvet. The walls were painted white, and there weren't any windows at all. Torches lined them, making the room bright and cozy. The carpet was a funny silver color. To my right, two humongous doors took up about half the wall. Nothing interesting about them; they were just two slabs of oak with hinges and a plain doorknob.   
Behind me on the far wall stood one of those old fashioned wardrobes. It was also made of oak and had two doors on it. I pointed at it and looked at Bailemon. "Can I see what's in there?"  
  
Bailemon: "Go right ahead."  
  
I walked over and opened one of its doors. There was nothing in there. I opened the other door, and saw some clothes hanging from hooks. I took them out and examined them. They were all silver with red trim, but the shirts had blue buttons on them. The pants were built like our blue jeans on Earth: one button to hold them together at the waist and on zipper. The difference was these pants were silver, and not jean material. The buttons were orange, and had the symbol of my Crest on them. "Whose clothes are these?"  
  
Bailemon: "Yours. If you'd like, you may change into them right now so we can wash your old clothes. You'll be required to wear them at dinner tonight, though."  
  
I was a little confused. "Wear what? My old clothes or these silver ones?"  
  
Bailemon: "The silver ones. There should also be a matching overgarment in there. You'll need to wear that as well."  
  
I looked in the wardrobe again, got out the rest of the clothes, and set them on the floor. More shirts and pants. I found a robe at the bottom of the pile and held it up for bailemon to see. "Is this what you mean by 'overgarment'?"  
  
Bailemon: "Yes." He looked at a clock over the fireplace that i hadn't seen before. "I need to check on the others. Is there anything else you need? Anything at all?"  
  
"Yeah... can I go with you?"  
  
He thought a moment. "Okay. Just don't get lost, and don't wander out of this hall. We need to be able to find you again later. There are, quite literally, a thousand and one places you could get lost here."  
  
Wow. This place must be pretty big. Bailemon slithered across the room and through the doors. Without opening them. First his head disappeared, then his massive wings, then his tail. He just went through those doors like a ghost! A few seconds passed by, then he stuck his head back through. "Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot to open the door for you. Do forgive me!" His head disappeared again. I heard a clicking noise from the doors, then the sound of them being pushed open. Bailemon was once again in view. I couldn't see anything behind him, since he filled most of the doorway. "These doors are so heavy! They're often too difficult for humans to open them, especially from the inside."  
  
"Does that mean there have been more people here before us?"  
  
"Certainly! The Digidestined before you were here, and the Digidestined before them, and the ones before them, and so on since the beginning of the Digiworld itself!"  
  
When Bailemon had slithered into the hall far enough for me to walk out the doors, I followed him to the room next to mine. I stopped in front of the doorway of the new room and got a good, long look at the hall. It was like my room; it had the same carpet, the same lack of windows, the same torches up near the ceiling, and even the same white plastery stuff on the walls. There were five rooms on each side of the hall. Mine had been at the very end, right next to the kitchen. After a few minutes, I decided to walk into the room. Bailemon was blocking most of my view, as he was a bit close to the doorway. I took a risk and tapped him on the side.  
  
"Bailemon? Can you please move? I can't see."  
  
He immediately turned his head towards me. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'll move." He slithered over to the wall furthest from me, and I could now see the whole room. It was exactly like mine, right down to the carpet. Joe was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. He, like me, was dressed in some more of the funny silver clothes. His glasses were on the floor nearby. I walked over to the side of the bed, picked them up, and sat down on the edge carefully.   
  
Me: "Hey Joe, what's up?"  
  
Joe: (sarcastically, without removing his gaze frome the ceiling) "Oh, not much. I'm just lying on a strange bed in a strange room in a REALLY strange world, and I have no idea how we got here. That's all."  
  
Me: "You don't have to be so sarcastic."  
  
Bailemon: (Hovering over the end of the bed, peering at Joe) "Are you all right?"  
  
Joe: (exhaustedly) "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm sorry, Tai. I just have a lot on my mind."  
  
Nobody said anything for a while; we all just stared off into space. Then...  
  
Me: "Whatcha starin' at the ceiling for?"  
  
Joe: "I'm not. I can't see a thing." 


	9. Catching Up

Mimi's pov  
  
When I woke up, I instantly knew something was wrong. Everything was dark, and the only light came from a candle in the middle of a room. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I *thought* I fell asleep in a forest. Oh well. I pushed my hair away from my face and leaned back again. I still felt tired, so I just forgot about everything and returned to my dreams of Matt Damon wearing Spandex. Ahhhh.......  
  
-----------------  
  
Sora's pov  
  
"Crap. I've got junk all over the sheets."  
  
"Well, quit eating sandwiches on my bed!"   
  
"But I'm hungry..." Oooooooooh, Matt looked so cute with his lips all pouty when he said that I just wanted to squeeze him!  
  
"I wonder if the others have room service, too."  
  
"Who knows, who cares? In case you haven't noticed, we've got a room all to ourselves. Why don't we make a night of it?"  
  
"Oh, you dirty boy, you!" I said playfully. "Let's do it!"  
  
----------------  
  
Joe's pov  
  
"Excuse me?" Tai sounded a little concerned.   
  
"You heard me. I can't see. Everything's all black, sorta. More like staring into black fog."  
  
"You sound way too calm. Bailemon, what's wrong with him?"  
  
I heard nothing but Tai's wheezing breath for a few minutes. Bailemon's deeper voice simply stated: "Garudamon would know for sure."  
  
"We've gotta get him there, then. We've gotta fix Joe!"  
  
That last statement unnerved me a little, but I knew he didn't mean that the way I heard it. "I don't know why you're making such a big deal over this. I'm fine. Really. See?" I got up from the bed and turned in slow circles.  
  
"Joe, you're blind and you're spinning. Something's wrong, okay?!"  
  
"Fine." Even though I couldn't see it, I knew Tai was looking at me questioningly. I felt him grab my wrist and lead me somewhere.  
  
"Bailemon, take us to Garudamon."  
  
"As you wish."  
  
-------------------  
  
Garudamon's pov  
  
"Garudamon?"  
  
"Yes, TK?" I had been thinking. I knew I was going to have to return my boy to his brother and his friends, but he was mine also.   
  
"When do I get to see my friends?" He asked it with such innocense, such purity! No knowledge of evil, so much kindness in his heart! I don't want to give him away. I sighed.  
  
"Soon, child. Soon." I could see the disappointment in his tender face. He was sitting on his throne, his staff floating beside him. Just the way it should stay....  
  
"Oh. Can I play soccer?"  
  
"Who would you play with? I need to think about.... things.... here."  
  
"Well, I could play with KaneNashimon."  
  
"If that's what you want. You know he's not good at sports."  
  
"I'm bored. I'd play with anyone there was, as long as they could play." Such frankness, motivation, direction, just what I need to run my part of the Kingdom when I reformat...  
  
"Go ahead, son. Remember where the Gymnasium is?"  
  
"Yep!"  
  
"Okay. See you later, then."  
  
"See ya!"  
  
---------------  
  
Kari's pov  
  
"Oooooh, yummy!" All the digimon were crowded around the table in the kitchen, sampling all kinds of different dishes.  
  
"You eat the STRAWBERRIES, not the china! Gomamon! Put that down! Bad seal, bad!" Poor Mechanorimon. He was the head cook, and had to put up with a bunch of literalists. I helped myself to some chocolate-cherry cheesecake.  
  
"What's for dinner?" I asked between bites.  
  
Otamamon gave me one of those parental why-are-you-asking-that-you-know-darn-well-we're-not-making-dinner-because-you're-eating-all-the-dessert looks. "Raw sewage."  
  
"Lovely." Just then, something squishy hit my head. I reached back to feel what it was. With sudden realization, I turned and narrowed my eyes at Gatomon. "Vanilla ice cream?" She grinned mischievously at me. "HOW DARE YOU! HOW INSULTING! TAKE THIS!" I sent my strawberry mousse whizzing past her head, but it missed. Instead it whacked Agumon -- square in the backside.   
  
"FOODFIGHT!"  
  
------------------  
  
Izzy's pov  
  
"You gave me your thoughts, so I gave you my soul  
I needed you, so now you I hold  
  
You're my memory from long ago  
The one I treasure most and will not let go  
  
Give me all the things you used to do  
This time, I won't waste your love  
You have my heart, my warmth, my whole  
  
So much more could be expressed  
But I already feel so blessed  
With you by my side"  
  
I put the pen down, looking over the soft piece of ivory paper one last time before I gave it to Arrow. I wanted to make sure no spelling errors would mess it up. I found it, along with a compactable table and fancy silverware, in a large cabinet at the end of my room. I was planning a small dinner for Arrow and me. I knew she was still asleep in her room across the hall, but I wanted to take advantage of the situation. I wanted us to have the perfect night tonight. I even set candles out on the maroon tablecloth I found in the cabinet drawer. I had woken up with no clothes on, so I just put on the silver and red robe -- courtesy of the cabinet (yet again).  
  
A knock on the door startled me. I glanced over at the tall, mahogany doors. A claw appeared, but the doors weren't even moved! The claw just---appeared! An orange hand followed it, then the rest of the creature. I can truthfully say that I was now beyond startled.   
  
"Hello? Ah, you're awake now! Pardon my intrusion, but I'm in sort of a hurry. My name is Bailemon. I just needed to let you know that I'm the "manager", if you will, of this hall. I need to take your companion, Joe, to Garudamon. If you need anything, just walk down to the end of the hall and ask one of the kitchen helpers. Good-bye, now." With that, Bailemon left the way he came; like a ghost. I wonder how many of the others he did that to? Wait a minute---where's my computer?  
  
"BAILEMON!" No answer. Grrrrr..... time to visit the kitchen, I guess. With a sigh, I made my way to the heavy doors. I turned the crystal handles, but they didn't open. I tried again, using a little more force. Still no luck. Again I twisted it, but the other direction. Yes! They opened with ease, and I now faced a well-lit hall. Torches lined the white walls, and there were jellybeans on the carpet. Kari must have been here. Or Tai. Whoever. I walked to the end of the hall and opened the door to what I thought was the kitchen. Upon entering, I was promptly hit with chocolate cake. The air was thick with food!   
  
"Watch out, Izzy!" I heard Kari shout. I ducked just in time for Tentomon to come shooting over my head.   
  
"What's going on in here? Are you guys crazy?" Nobody answered. They were having too much fun with their fight, so I grabbed a banana split and joined in.  
  
--------------------  
  
Arrow's pov  
  
Why was it so hot in here? I sat up and rubbed my eyes to help wake up a bit more. There was a fireplace in my room, and the fire was blazing. No wonder I'm sweating so much. I would have put it out, but the fire was my only source of light. There also wasn't any water in here to put it out with. I soon realized that I had NOTHING on. I saw a cabinet-thing at the other side of the room, so I decided to check it out. There was all kinds of junk in the drawer at the bottom, but nothing wearable except a hat. Not what I needed right then. I found a shiny robe with buttons on it just inside the hinged door, so I put that on. I had a feeling that it was meant for wearing in public, like a kimono. It felt so smooth and cool! I couldnt tell exactly what color the cloth was since it was so dark, but I could easily tell the hue of the buttons. They were GLOWING gray, like neon. A lighter gray outline of a book was on them also. Could it be? No, it can't. It CAN'T be my crest---can it? MY crest of Truth? "What kind of joke is this?" I whispered softly. I ran to the doors, opened them, and stopped. There were a bunch of doors in this hall, but I was so freaked out I just opened the first one I came to. 


	10. Just Between Us

Arrow's pov  
  
Nothing. There wasn't any sign of a person in here whatsoever. Well, I take that back. There was a small table in the center of the room with a gorgeous, lacy white tablecloth on it and silverware set up for two people. There were two lit candles as well. Whoever had done this wasn't in here now.   
  
I had nothing better to do, so I sat down in one of the wicker chairs near it. I faced the tale and propped my chin with my hands, staring at the two candles. They were tall, slender, and red, with tiny droplets of melted pink wax oozing their way to the golden base. Absentmindedly, I felt the tablecloth. Oh, it was so smooth! The mere touch of it was reminiscent of the accidental brush an angel may have made against another's robes on the way to Heaven. I gazed into the flickering flames and watched as they took the form of dancers enshrouded in floating silk, rehearsing their intricate, complex routine for the show that was to come. I soon became one of those dancers, also twirling, hopping, tumbling, and unfurling my delicate sashes of gold, yellow, and red. The other transformed into Izzy, who pranced about on tip-toes, springing lightly in circles around me. We would approach each other, then jump away deliberately, twisting and turning our bodies in every which way. His style changed to a more fervent, agressive one whereas I took on a more mirthful, graceful dance. We continued this joyous celebration until eventually, we melded into one. His body was mine, my thoughts were his, all one flame. His lips touched mine, arousing a certain ecstacy in both of us, and we shared a passionate kiss. Tender, and sweet he was...  
  
"Arrow?! What...?? Why're you in here? WHAT have you GOT all over your FACE?!" The genuinely confused and alarmed redhead had abruptly forced the massive door open as far as it would go, only to see me with wax all over my face.  
  
"Um... I would really rather not talk about it...." Talk about getting caught with your pants down.  
  
He gave me a weird look. "Okay. I won't ask." He glanced at the now mushed candle. "I see you've found my surprise." He walked over to, then sat in the other wicker chair across the table from me. Only then did I notice the lemon custard in his hair and the various food stains on his robe. Before I could say anything about it he stated, "There was a food fight in the kitchen." Looking down, he grinned. "You should see Kari. She looks like the Abominable Snowman." I was about to say something just then, but I had to pick all the wax off my mouth first. "You are a mess, aren't you? Here, lemme help you." He placed his soft hands on my skin and brushed the crumbly stuff away gently. I practically melted with every touch! I gazed into his deep, brown eyes. I felt like I was staring at his very soul, baring all the things he kept hidden from everyone else. "There. You're all clean now. And Arrow?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"From now on, don't eat the candles. Wait till dinner."  
  
"Hey!" I probably would have whacked him, but he had maneuvered almost instantaneously around the table and locked me in an intense kiss, one that by far surpassed the delusional one. His tongue found its way into my mouth and explored, and I caressed him, teased his hair, encouraging him to do with me as he pleased. We slipped out of my chair and onto the soft, cushy floor into a much more comfortable position.  
  
------------  
  
Joe's pov  
  
I was led into a room that smelled dusty and dank, like a basement almost. I could tell by the sound of my shoes that I was walking on a bare, concrete floor which probably had dirt all over it. Figures.   
  
"Joe?" It sounded more like a statement than an interrogation. Even so, I knew it was Garudamon talking. He must have decided that yes, I was indeed Joe because he continued on. "You know why you can't see, don't you?"  
  
I was a little baffled. Was he implying that my blindness was a punishment or something? Or did he think it was self-inflicted? "What do you mean?"  
  
I heard a slightly exasperated sigh, then his gravelly voice again. "The dust that was falling from the sky? Do you remember it?"  
  
"Yes...."  
  
"I did it. It wasn't supposed to affect you humans.... just the digimon."  
  
Apparantly Tai was still with us, for just then he blurted, "Well it did affect us! Joe can't see anymore! I'd say you used fuzzy logic when you dumped that stuff on us."  
  
"Shut up boy," he said rather sharply. To me he stated, "Look in-- nevermind. Follow me." I felt a large, bristly paw with talons close around my arm gently and firmly. I felt myself being pulld to some other place. The atmosphere changed, and everything seemed... warmer. More cheerful. Garudamon stopped me a bit too forcefully, and I was accidentally jerked around because of it. "Sorry about that. I didn't want you to fall in the pool."  
  
"Pool? What do you mean?" I had no desire whatsoever to get wet and cold right now, so I whipped out my infamous excuse. "I'm allergic to pools."  
  
He laughed a deep, rumbling, hearty laugh. "Don't worry. The only part you'll get wet is your eyes. Bend over." I did, and my hands met a short stone wall. "Inside the pool is special water. Cup your hand and splash it on your face." I did. The cool water felt nice on my sticky eyes, that is, until it starting stinging worse than acidic toxic waste. Instinctively I began splashing more on my face, which actually helped considering it was what caused the pain in the first place. The stinging subsided, so I dried my face using the bottom edge of my shirt.   
  
"Well?" Tai was looking at me, shaking with anticipation. I stared at him in return, and raised an eyebrow.   
  
"What?" I blinked. Wait a minute... I could SEE again! "I can see! Tai! You know what this means?" Out of the corner of my eye I saw Garudamon shift his weight onto his other foot, and an odd expression creeped over his facial features.   
  
The deep rumbling voice hissed from his feathered throat, "It means I can dispose of you now without any more burdens on my conscience."  
  
  
  



End file.
